? about LEDs, current HPS 600w and MH 400w user, experience 10 successful grows

Markshomegrown

Well-Known Member
guessing from your post you have had little to no experience growing under led.
hes not wrong a good 480watt led will beat a 600w sodium easy, a 650watt led will destroy it...
lol light mover, good one...
Do you know what you are talking about?
you buy a light that cover your canopy size, a 600w will cover a 4ft x 3ft
a 480w would cover a 4ft x 4ft flower room, a 650w led would kill your plants in a 4ft x 4ft flower room.
There is a cut off point where your plants can't take too much light.
 

GoatSoup

Well-Known Member
The LED boards are probably not what will go out, the drivers are the weakest link(s). I'd suggest you measure the V/A of the drivers if they are not marked and keep that to order replacements, if needed.
Try to dim the LEDs and get them closer to improve the PAR/Lux. That will keep the LEDs cooler and make them last longer.
 

Dape Green

Well-Known Member
Do you get 50,000 to 100,000 hours out of your barn lights? Barn lights are for barns, LEDs are better for everyone!
Once you figure out the right temps/rh for LED you will blow your previous yields away. I can break 2lbs pretty easy with a HLG scorpion running 500-550w. I wish I would have found this chart earlier, hope it helps.
73DEA5A4-3C9D-4661-9A5A-83F319EB79E2.png
 

grotbags

Well-Known Member
Do you know what you are talking about?
you buy a light that cover your canopy size, a 600w will cover a 4ft x 3ft
a 480w would cover a 4ft x 4ft flower room, a 650w led would kill your plants in a 4ft x 4ft flower room.
There is a cut off point where your plants can't take too much light.
wut???...

OP made a thread about possibly switching from sodium to led and was seeking a bit of info. lenin1917 posted saying how a modern 480w-650w led would smash an old 600w sodium, in which he/she is 100% correct about...

for some reason you decided to make a post to defend the trusty old 600w sodium which started with a snotty comment about lenin1917's supposed lack of experience growing with sodium lamps, thats despite him/her mentioning in post above your reply about having experience growing with sodiums???...

then you told us that a brand new 600w sodium with an adjust a wing relector, a digital ballast, a light mover (lol), a slight headwind and a blessing from the pope would cover a 1.2m x 1.5m and then suggested that a modern 480w led would perform worse by only lighting a 1.2m x 1.2m???...
you then went on to say you have built your own led to cover a 1.2 x 1.2 area that will only consume 364w???...

a modern good quality led @480watt 30w/sqft is perfect for a 4 x 4, sure its not setting the world on fire (or your plants) but will more than get the job done.
@650w 40watt/sqft you might have your hands full and everything will need to be on point, but its more than doable... with co2 and the right strain thats just getting cosy...
 

gwhunran

Well-Known Member
Once you figure out the right temps/rh for LED you will blow your previous yields away. I can break 2lbs pretty easy with a HLG scorpion running 500-550w. I wish I would have found this chart earlier, hope it helps.
View attachment 5041406
I haven't worried about weight since my 2nd grow. Weight after harvest. Weight when cured. Since it's for me. I always have some left when I cure the next grow.
 

gwhunran

Well-Known Member
wut???...

OP made a thread about possibly switching from sodium to led and was seeking a bit of info. lenin1917 posted saying how a modern 480w-650w led would smash an old 600w sodium, in which he/she is 100% correct about...

for some reason you decided to make a post to defend the trusty old 600w sodium which started with a snotty comment about lenin1917's supposed lack of experience growing with sodium lamps, thats despite him/her mentioning in post above your reply about having experience growing with sodiums???...

then you told us that a brand new 600w sodium with an adjust a wing relector, a digital ballast, a light mover (lol), a slight headwind and a blessing from the pope would cover a 1.2m x 1.5m and then suggested that a modern 480w led would perform worse by only lighting a 1.2m x 1.2m???...
you then went on to say you have built your own led to cover a 1.2 x 1.2 area that will only consume 364w???...

a modern good quality led @480watt 30w/sqft is perfect for a 4 x 4, sure its not setting the world on fire (or your plants) but will more than get the job done.
@650w 40watt/sqft you might have your hands full and everything will need to be on point, but its more than doable... with co2 and the right strain thats just getting cosy...
I had planned to dim them down. I read they are more efficient at less than full power. Thus the questions about measuring lumens and adjusting the dimmer to hit desired percentage of power output. I have AC in both rooms. I have exhaust in both rooms and have used them and AC together and found a doable balance. Plus I have top of the wall fans blowing down on the plants that should cool the light too.
 

Dape Green

Well-Known Member
I haven't worried about weight since my 2nd grow. Weight after harvest. Weight when cured. Since it's for me. I always have some left when I cure the next grow.
Terpene profile seems much better under LED than cmh and hps as well. I don’t care so much for yield either but it’s nice to have plenty to share.
 

Markshomegrown

Well-Known Member
wut???...

OP made a thread about possibly switching from sodium to led and was seeking a bit of info. lenin1917 posted saying how a modern 480w-650w led would smash an old 600w sodium, in which he/she is 100% correct about...

for some reason you decided to make a post to defend the trusty old 600w sodium which started with a snotty comment about lenin1917's supposed lack of experience growing with sodium lamps, thats despite him/her mentioning in post above your reply about having experience growing with sodiums???...

then you told us that a brand new 600w sodium with an adjust a wing relector, a digital ballast, a light mover (lol), a slight headwind and a blessing from the pope would cover a 1.2m x 1.5m and then suggested that a modern 480w led would perform worse by only lighting a 1.2m x 1.2m???...
you then went on to say you have built your own led to cover a 1.2 x 1.2 area that will only consume 364w???...

a modern good quality led @480watt 30w/sqft is perfect for a 4 x 4, sure its not setting the world on fire (or your plants) but will more than get the job done.
@650w 40watt/sqft you might have your hands full and everything will need to be on point, but its more than doable... with co2 and the right strain thats just getting cosy...
No lenin1917 posted "leds will outperform a 600w hps/mh by a lot. Why such small yields? You just not using much of the space?"
saying I can't pull a good crop with HPS, after using them for 20 years and see them improve every few years and the different styles of hoods I have learnt a lot growing perpetual for all this time.
The lights are just a tool and it part of a set, with the right knowledge and experience you pull large crops, the light is a just a small part and most growers will not see a different in crop size for years(HPS vs LEDS).

About the 480w LED, most chart seem to have a poor light spread like this,
Scorpion_R_spec_PPFD.png
They could spread the chips out and have a very even spread of light but they don't.

yes I defend the trusty old 600w, been using them for a long time, if you can grow I mean really grow, you will pull a good crop with any light.
you best tell sedan, HPS are crap and he needs to move over to LEDS.

you give your plants too much light and your going to damage the plants, its that simple.
why risk it?
 

bk78

Well-Known Member
No lenin1917 posted "leds will outperform a 600w hps/mh by a lot. Why such small yields? You just not using much of the space?"
saying I can't pull a good crop with HPS, after using them for 20 years and see them improve every few years and the different styles of hoods I have learnt a lot growing perpetual for all this time.
The lights are just a tool and it part of a set, with the right knowledge and experience you pull large crops, the light is a just a small part and most growers will not see a different in crop size for years(HPS vs LEDS).

About the 480w LED, most chart seem to have a poor light spread like this,
View attachment 5041763
They could spread the chips out and have a very even spread of light but they don't.

yes I defend the trusty old 600w, been using them for a long time, if you can grow I mean really grow, you will pull a good crop with any light.
you best tell sedan, HPS are crap and he needs to move over to LEDS.

you give your plants too much light and your going to damage the plants, its that simple.
why risk it?
You started growing when you were 9 now?
 

grotbags

Well-Known Member
No lenin1917 posted "leds will outperform a 600w hps/mh by a lot. Why such small yields? You just not using much of the space?"
saying I can't pull a good crop with HPS, after using them for 20 years and see them improve every few years and the different styles of hoods I have learnt a lot growing perpetual for all this time
you think lenin1917 was talking to you??? he was addressing the OP, your reading stuff that isnt there...
what improvements has sodium seen in the last 20 years?, digital ballasts?... meh... double ended 600/1000w?, 400v?, what was that a 10% improvement... meh...
as for hoods/reflectors they are all shit because they start with a flawed concept... the sodium bulb, a 360 degree point light source. out of all the hoods/reflectors ive used i prefered the growstar.
growstar-reflector-650x650_0.jpg

The lights are just a tool and it part of a set, with the right knowledge and experience you pull large crops, the light is a just a small part and most growers will not see a different in crop size for years(HPS vs LEDS).

About the 480w LED, most chart seem to have a poor light spread like this,
i dont care how good a grower you are you are not going to make up for a lack of photons, you are arguing against physics now.
everyone i know who has switched to led from sodium has seen an imediate increase in yields, sure there has been bumps along the way (not with yield) but no one i know would dream of going back...

here is the first par map i found for a 480watt led, mars hydro fce4800, whats wrong with that?, looks pretty typical to me...
fc-e-4800-ppf.jpg


yes I defend the trusty old 600w, been using them for a long time, if you can grow I mean really grow, you will pull a good crop with any light.
total rubbish, absolute codswallop.

you best tell sedan, HPS are crap and he needs to move over to LEDS.
i wouldnt dream of going into sedans thread and telling him his sodiums are crap. but if he came in here in 2021/2022 and started advising the OP to grow vertical with bare sodiums over led id tell him he was tripping and so would 99.9% of everyone else...
 

Markshomegrown

Well-Known Member
you think lenin1917 was talking to you??? he was addressing the OP, your reading stuff that isnt there...
what improvements has sodium seen in the last 20 years?, digital ballasts?... meh... double ended 600/1000w?, 400v?, what was that a 10% improvement... meh...
as for hoods/reflectors they are all shit because they start with a flawed concept... the sodium bulb, a 360 degree point light source. out of all the hoods/reflectors ive used i prefered the growstar.
View attachment 5041828


i dont care how good a grower you are you are not going to make up for a lack of photons, you are arguing against physics now.
everyone i know who has switched to led from sodium has seen an imediate increase in yields, sure there has been bumps along the way (not with yield) but no one i know would dream of going back...

here is the first par map i found for a 480watt led, mars hydro fce4800, whats wrong with that?, looks pretty typical to me...
View attachment 5041838



total rubbish, absolute codswallop.


i wouldnt dream of going into sedans thread and telling him his sodiums are crap. but if he came in here in 2021/2022 and started advising the OP to grow vertical with bare sodiums over led id tell him he was tripping and so would 99.9% of everyone else...
having that reply directly after my post, would make me think he was talking about me. (looks like a reply to my post).
I have used the adjust a wing on a light rail and the light spread is very even over a 5ft x 4ft.
you do need enough light to cover your canopy not the room, you can't say leds do this better than hps, you can say hps use more electric.

you can set a hole room up, tent, fans, lights etc for the cost of the mars led, so there will be a lot of growers buying hps over LEDS, that's a fact.
My local grow shops don't stock leds, they mainly sell HPS.

From what I have read online 700-800 par is the best range, when you have problems with your plants they can't handle 1000par, it could bleach and damage the leaves.
This is my point, you could reduce the watts by 30% and still give they plants a good amount of light.(less stress on the canopy).
 

speedwell68

Well-Known Member
That is great that they are actually producing boards in the US.

I have some new Quantum Board lights. My buddy built them, component for component they are a identical clone of a Mars Hydro TS1000, we could even of had the boards etched with the Mars Hydro logo. Apart from the logo if you put my lights next to a Mars Hydro TS1000 you couldn't tell the difference.
 

speedwell68

Well-Known Member
if you can grow I mean really grow, you will pull a good crop with any light.
Ace, I have 5 cheapo 80w Amazon COB lights sitting here doing nothing. I want you to get a good yield with them in a 4x4. I also have 2 600w HPS lights.

I have 4 TS1000 spec lights I have been running for less than a week have let my plants put on more growth than they would have done in 2 weeks under the COBS or the HPS.

Good LEDs are a country mile better than anything else. The only down side I see is LEDS make it harder to control temps/rh in cooler weather.
 

Markshomegrown

Well-Known Member
I have two 600w hps covering a 1.1m x 2.0m(flower rooms 1.1 x 2.4)
6 weeks in flower 12/12 (42 days) 6 plants in home made soil mix (18ltr pots)
IMG_0454.JPG
Leds are better than HPS, I get that but your 4 lights cost £600+
A single 600w hps could cover the same space for £80.
 
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